Shoe last



March 2 1926. 1,575,527

G. H. BOEHMER SHOE- LAST Filed Feb. 26, 1925 5 INVENTO ,Q Gusmvushf BQEHM'.

MW a I ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES "eusrav'o's n. BOEHMER, or ST. LOUIS, mssonm.

s'non nasr.

Application filed February 26, 1925. Serial No. 11,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUs'rAvUs H. Bonn MER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of St. Louis, and State of MISSOHII,

have invented a new and Improved Shoe Last, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to shoe lasts, an object of the invention being to prov1de a last of improved shapewhich gives to the shoe sole formed thereon a contour which conforms to the contour of the normal toot .will hold and support the following bones in their proper or normal position, namely, the five metatarsal bones, each-and every one of the three cuneiform bones, also the scaphoid bone, the cuboid bone and the 0scalcis bone,-in such a manner that they cannot spread out of shape nor can they be crowded together. At the same time the bone structure, muscles, and the. arteries and veins of the foot will be able to function properly while sustaining the entire weight of the body.

In other words, it is the purpose of, my im proved last to so shape a shoe sole that it will place upon each andevery b016, ligament and muscle its proper duty, at the same time will maintain the arches of the'foot in normal position and prevent either spreading, or contraction, or collapsing of anyof the arches of the foot.

The broad purpose, therefore, of my invention is to provide a'last upon which a sole may be shaped which will hold the foot in the same shape when the weight is there- 'on as when the foot is free from weight,

and which will result in obviating or pre venting foot troubles, and also as a meansfor remedying foot ailments. With these and other objects in View, the invention consistsin certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, which will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view in side elevation illustrating my improved shoe last;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the last;

Figure 3 is a View in transverse section on the line 3'3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view in transverse section on the line 4% of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a view in transverse section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

I shall first describe the shape of the last and later'the function or reason for such sha e. 1 re resents the last which for conof material.

My invention has to do more particularly with the shape of thebottom of the last, anti it will be noted thatI provide a longitudinal transversely curved arch or recess?) extending from the heel portion 2 to the toe po-jytion- 3, this recess or arch increasing in depth from the heel to a point slightly re- -moved from the heel, then extending longitudinally in substantially the same depth, and merging into a-transverse curved line g at the rear of the toe portion or ball of the cot.

This'curve 6 at its ends merges into forwardly extending curved portions 7 at opposite sides of the bottom of the last, and the sides of the arch 'portion of the last at the bottom thereof are convexly rounded or curved as shown at 8. l

It will thus be noticed that th; shape of the .bottom of the'last is such that it gives a transverse arch from a point adjacent the heel to a point'at the center of the ball. This curve or recess while extendinglongitudinally gives the transverse arch shape desired, which at itsouter edges is convexly curved or rounded so as to provide a last which will shape a sole that will exactly conform to the shape of a normal foot.

The cross sectional views 3, 4 and 5 show from-the "heel to the toe portion of the last.

Having now described .mechanically ale shape of the last, I will describe the funcice tion of such shape, bearingjn mind that I have reference to the sole which is made upon such a last with a view to setting forth the contour as compared with and as a support for the various bones of the foot.

The contour of the bottom or under side of the last is so shaped that it conforms to the shape of'the normal foot, and a sole toward the toes, directly hack ofthe for-l ward endsof the five metatarsal bones, al-

' lowing suificient s ace fora-ll of them to rest comfortably. rom this line the last is hollowed out to support the natural curves ofjth'e following bones, beginning with the first metatarsalbone' which is joined to the big toe, radually curvmg' u'p'to support the secon metatarsal bone, then further up to sup ortythe third metatarsalbone, then gradua 1y curving down to the fourtlrmetatarsal bone, and, still further down, to support the fifth metatarsal bone fthenback toward theheel of the last, following-every curve as near as possible, going up under the five metatarsal bones to where they meet the three cunefio'rm bones and the cuboid bone, then down and in under the cuboid bone and the three cune1for1n bones, and up to where the os'calcis and astragalus bones IGSl', upon the heel.

Various slight changes and alterations might be made in the general form of the parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. .shoe last having a longitudinal transversely curved arch in its bottom face extending from the heel portion thereof to .the ball thereof, the outer portions of said arch being convexly curved and the central portion concavely curved, the center line of said concaved ortionalso tapering longitudinally from ieel to tread.

A shoe last having a longitudinal transversely concaved curved arch in its bottom face extending from the heel portion thereof the center line of which curves or tapers longitudinally to the ball thereof, the

outer portions of said arch being convexly curved, said longitudinal arch merging at its forward end into a transversely curved line at the ball of the foot, this curvature being at its center nearest the forward end of the ball and at its ends merging into 0 positely curved lines which merge into t lateral curvature of the first-mentioned arch.-

GUSTAVUS H. BOEHMER. 

